


Every Mark Has Its Meaning

by yehwellwhatever



Category: American Idol RPF, The Anthemic
Genre: Established Relationship, M/M, Tattoos, Touring
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-07-03
Updated: 2012-07-03
Packaged: 2017-11-09 02:36:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,002
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/450327
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yehwellwhatever/pseuds/yehwellwhatever
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Neal doesn't think anyone will notice his newest tattoos.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Every Mark Has Its Meaning

**Author's Note:**

  * For [bail](https://archiveofourown.org/users/bail/gifts).



Neal likes tattoos, nearly has two full sleeves by now. Which is why, when he got the latest tattoos, he didn’t think anyone would notice. He was careful to put them in places where it would be hard to spot. He should have known better though, at least that’s what Dave tells him when he checks his twitter @replies.

“Fuck me, this is insane,” Neal complains, banging his head repeatedly against the tabletop. He groans, looking up at Dave under lowered lashes. “I don’t see what the big deal is, anyway.”

Dave snorts, rolling his eyes. “Seriously? You did not see this coming? Have you _met_ our fans?” It’s a well known fact that their fans notice everything. Even the things that they don’t notice themselves at times. “It’s not like you even wanted to be secretive about it. If you did, you wouldn’t have put them in the middle of the stars.”

“They were the only spots left.” Neal shrugs. “Why would anyone pay attention to my tattoos anyway?” He just doesn’t get it. Sure, they’re nice tattoos, but they’re not that interesting. By the looks of his @replies on twitter, and Archie’s, this is bigger than when Dave got his ‘14’ tattoo, and everyone flipped out. At least this time, it’s apparently crystal clear what they stand for.

It’s not as if Neal has been trying to hide them, he could have worn long sleeves if that’s what he wanted to do. No, what’s bothering him is that he only got these done a couple of days ago, and he hasn’t exactly had the time to show Archie yet.

“ _Everyone_ pays attention to your tattoos, Tiemann,” Dave says, and Neal can hear him biting back a laugh. “It’s like a sport they have, I don’t get it, but I think whoever spots your newest tattoo first get some sort of prize.”

Before Neal can think of anything to say to that, his phone rings. He doesn’t have to look at the display to know it’s Archie. He knew Andy was up to something when he asked to borrow his phone last night. Cook just laughs and pats his shoulder, going to the bunks as _Here comes the bride_ keeps on playing.

He takes a deep breath, and counts to five before flipping the phone open. “Hi.”

“Hi, Neal,” Archie says. He sounds tired but still cheerful, though Neal can hear a hint of something Archie’s trying to hide.

“You sound tired, Archie. You’re not working too hard, are you?” Neal looks at the clock hanging on the wall in front of him. It’s 6 pm, which means it must be midnight for Archie. Neal knows what Archie is like when he’s in the studio, Neal himself is the same. It wouldn’t be the first time Archie got overworked while recording.

“No, no, it’s fine,” Archie says, failing to stifle a yawn that makes his jaw pop. They just sit in silence for a while, listening to each other breathe. “So…” Archie starts, breaking the silence. “I saw the pictures.”

Neal knows there’s no way Archie wouldn’t have found out about it, but that hadn’t stopped him from hoping. “Yeah…” He hesitates, not really sure what the right thing to say here is. Archie's difficult to read when he’s tired, when he’s tired on the phone it’s ten times harder.

“They’re not exactly subtle, Neal.” Archie chuckles, and Neal only has to close his eyes to picture what he looks like. He can’t wait until Archie gets home again, so that he can hold him in his arms and do all the things he dreams about at night, and sometime during the day.

“Since when have I ever been subtle, Archuleta?” Neal says, and he’s near laughter now, too, except he’s still uncertain about how Archie actually feels. Neal wasn’t often nervous before he met Archie, it was just something about the other man that brought it out in him.

“You’ve got a point there, haha. That’s what I love about you,” he says, his voice going soft. “I really like the tattoos, Neal.”

Neal lets out a breath he wasn’t aware of holding. “Really? Are you sure?” he can’t help but ask, even though he knows that Archie stopped saying things just to be nice a long time ago.

“Gosh, Neal. Yes, of course I’m sure.” They both laugh out loud then, probably for two completely different reasons. “The rings look exactly like ours, it’s incredible. I hope you gave whoever made it a good tip, haha.”

“I did…” Neal nibbles his lip rings for a few seconds before continuing. “I didn’t want you to find out like this, I wanted you to see them first, when you came home. I just didn’t think anyone would notice, you know?”

“Are you serious?” Archie asks, and if Neal didn’t know better he would say that Archie was mocking him. “Haha, Neal, your fans notice _everything_. They know things before we do half of the time.”

“That’s what Dave said,” Neal says, smiling to himself. “So, like, you can see the tattoos when you get home. Properly, I mean. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner.”

“It’s okay, it was a nice surprise,” Archie says, his voice soft and laced with sleep. “I really do like them, thank you Neal.”

“Go to sleep, Archie,” Neal says, matching his voice to Archie’s. “I love you, see you soon.”

“Yeah, soon,” Archie says. “Can’t wait. I love you, too.”

After they hang up, Neal just sits there for a while, listening to all the sounds that come with living on a bus, his arms folded as he traces the outline of the intertwined _DN_ with the tips of his fingers. The skin is still a little tender, but it’s a nice feeling.

He almost wishes he had waited until Archie got home to have them done, but having them now makes Neal miss him a little less. He figures it’s all good.  
 **The end**

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by the prompt _tattoos_ given to me by bail. Thanks to lire_casander for the beta. Any remaining mistakes are my own.


End file.
